Poll: Generated Character of the Generation: FINALS (479 votes)

This is it, folks! The finals for the Characters of the Generation are upon us! (And I'm sure some of you can't wait for these polls to just be over.) The final two enter, but only one can win. Polls close at 9PM Pacific on Friday, December 13th.

I guess I understand why Shepard would get this far and probably win, but the constant praising of him/her in the game really got on my nerves after awhile. I get why they did it, in a game about choice she/he kind of always has to be in the middle of everything, it just got annoying hearing everyone say she/he has done the impossible every other mission.

Haha, yeah, it is suspiciously similar. Basically, Mass Effect is the populist, damn-near-everybody-played-it-and-what's-not-to-like vote, while Dark Souls is the cult favourite where it didn't sell nearly as well, but everybody who played it absolutely loves it to death. I fine with how most of these polls went, but oh boy, was it ever silly how far Mass Effect 1 and 2 got in Soundtrack of the Generation.

The fact that the Chosen Undead got this far and is still not losing losing by a landslide is a prime example of why I have gotten so soured on the Dark Souls fanbase. Yeah, Mass Effect had a lot of characters in this competition. A large part of the Mass Effect games are centered around character recruitment and interaction. You don't need to vote up anything to do with Dark Souls in any any category regardless of whether it makes an iota of sense, just because you really like it.

Man, fuck you guys and your Mass Effect love. Jesus christ. Every poll that Mass Effect is in it wins. Its so boring.

It lost Soundtrack of the Year, it lost Female Character of the Year, it's going to lose Male Character of the Year. Apart from GOTG this is the only poll it's going to win, and that's only because The Chosen Undead isn't actually a character. It's almost as if you have some kind of bia here.

Wait, so The Chosen Undead doesn't even speak, right? No showing of emotions, no nothing? Really, you could play as a can of baked beans with arms and legs, and it would have zero impact on the story/progression, right? I get that people love Dark Souls, but...

It was probably unfair to put Shepard into the generated character bracket because he has way more personality than any generated characters does. This category always seemed weird to me. What are you comparing when you decide on a better generated character?

It's exactly 50/50 right now. Garrus is making up for lost time big time and looks to probably take over.

Like the guy you quoted, I can't help but feel that Mass Effect is winning everything only because it's multi-platform, it sold very well and everyone's just voting for the game they recognize. Which is perfectly fair since this is a poll after all.

It was probably unfair to put Shepard into the generated character bracket because he has way more personality than any generated characters does. This category always seemed weird to me. What are you comparing when you decide on a better generated character?

I would say the boss in Saints Row is the other generated character nomination that feels as fully realized as Shepard while still allowing some customization; unfortunately, they faced each other previously.

But it is true, both Shepard and the Boss are customizable only in appearance and some details (like voice acting and background story), which allows for a lot more depth than Dovahkiin or The Courier, for example. However, he is the best character out of these two, because the Dark Souls one barely is. It could have been a stick figure without a face and it would have made no difference to the game at all...

Damn it, I didn't know The Boss had lost! Oh well, better go with Shepard then, as the most The Chosen Undead says is 'ARG!'. I love Dark Souls, but my character ain't the reason why.

Said it as well as I could, I would prefer that the Boss had made it this far, but given they didn't, have to give it to Mass Effect, although I as a player can project my feelings and emotions onto my Dark and Demon Souls characters. In general, oofs and arghs and hiahs! Are no match for an actual scripted character read by the lovely Jennifer Hale.

i love Mass Effect but dear god if i came face to face with commander Shepard i could only laugh every time something painfully obvious, horribly patronizing, or stupidly simple came out of his mouth, which is constantly.

Man, fuck you guys and your Mass Effect love. Jesus christ. Every poll that Mass Effect is in it wins. Its so boring.

Mass Effect is the Citizen Kane of video games.

No. Just no.

to be fair, citizen kane isnt even the citizen kane of movies. If anyone thinks that's the greatest movie of all time, they are dead fucking wrong. That phrase is just idiotic.

The phrase is not used to categorize the greatest movie of all time, but the breaking point movie that changed the way the world saw movies. Before the success of Citizen Kane, movies were considered nothing more than entertainment and distractions. With Citizen Kane, the world came the realization that they could be used for artistic expression of the author, the realization that they were actually a new medium, different than the other ones.

And yes, Mass Effect is not the Citizen Kane of video games. However, its still a pretty damn good video game.

Call of Duty 4 is the game of the generation, fuckers. And I don't even like it that much, but it's more influential and defining of a generation than terrible Star Trek fan fiction that played like Gears of War on heroin. Dark Souls is the Game of the Niche.

Call of Duty 4 is the game of the generation, fuckers. And I don't even like it that much, but it's more influential and defining of a generation than terrible Star Trek fan fiction that played like Gears of War on heroin. Dark Souls is the Game of the Niche.

This ain't what this thread is about, yo. Despite how painfully obvious it is that people are voting for The Chosen Undead because they like Dark Souls.

Call of Duty 4 is the game of the generation, fuckers. And I don't even like it that much, but it's more influential and defining of a generation than terrible Star Trek fan fiction that played like Gears of War on heroin. Dark Souls is the Game of the Niche.

This ain't what this thread is about, yo. Despite how painfully obvious it is that people are voting for The Chosen Undead because they like Dark Souls.

Sorry, just had an old man shouting from his porch moment. Though, really, people are voting between an empty husk they can make look pretty, and the Dark Souls player avatar?

to be fair, citizen kane isnt even the citizen kane of movies. If anyone thinks that's the greatest movie of all time, they are dead fucking wrong. That phrase is just idiotic.

The phrase is not used to categorize the greatest movie of all time, but the breaking point movie that changed the way the world saw movies. Before the success of Citizen Kane, movies were considered nothing more than entertainment and distractions. With Citizen Kane, the world came the realization that they could be used for artistic expression of the author, the realization that they were actually a new medium, different than the other ones.

And yes, Mass Effect is not the Citizen Kane of video games. However, its still a pretty damn good video game.

N... no. Citizen Kane is a big deal because it was a huge stylistic leap forward in what movies were capable of. Movies were a big fucking deal from day one, had been recognized artistically for years at that point.

It depends on how you define a character. In terms of dialogue, obviously CU isn't there at all. But in terms of actions that affect the story, then yeah he/she's a pretty viable contender. Personally I voted for CU not just because I've never been a big Mass Effect Fan, but I generally prefer characters that aren't just universally praised as some kind of savior. CU was thrust into a world full of beings that wanted nothing more than to manipulate him/her into doing their work for them. Even the term "Chosen Undead" plays into that; he/she wasn't really all that special, just the first to come along that actually managed to get to the goal.

@lackingsaint: I think Mass Effect is an awful series that gets WAY to much credit. Its not even Bioware's 2nd best franchise much less its best.

Cool, but you're very clearly in the minority here and getting mad about it is pointless. Chill. And, as others have said, the Chosen Undead isn't even a character. He/she should never have gotten this far.

A fair point. For me, someone with no personality is not a character. That's my biggest issue with most silent protagonists like CU, Gordon Freeman, and Chono. There's just nothing there but pixels or polygons through which the players acts.

I really do think CU only got this far either because Dark Souls or to stop Mass Effect from winning again, though. I'm playing through DS for the first time right now and nothing I've seen comes close to Shepard or The Boss from Saints Row. I'd be really surprised if most of the people voting for CU actually thought it was a good character.

It depends on how you define a character. In terms of dialogue, obviously CU isn't there at all. But in terms of actions that affect the story, then yeah he/she's a pretty viable contender. Personally I voted for CU not just because I've never been a big Mass Effect Fan, but I generally prefer characters that aren't just universally praised as some kind of savior. CU was thrust into a world full of beings that wanted nothing more than to manipulate him/her into doing their work for them. Even the term "Chosen Undead" plays into that; he/she wasn't really all that special, just the first to come along that actually managed to get to the goal.

I believe you are stretching the definition of character here. On his own, he has no personality traits, no backstory, no individuality, no agency and no motivation (outside of surviving whatever the game imposes on him/her). He is only customizable through equipment and stats. He/she is pretty much an avatar, more than a character.

I agree that Shepard is not the best of this generation. Personally, I would have rather see the Boss here (or, if dialogue options are the only requirement for customization, having Lee)... But given the options, he is the only character available.

@hailinel: I'm just using this post to request that there be a Champions League style match for the winners of your three character leagues. I would enjoy that.

Then, just for laughs, if you could talk to the organizers of the Best Game and Best Soundtrack competitions, and pit three totally unrelated categories against each other for a confusing clusterfuck of funny.